Tuesday, January 19, 2016

Previewing the projected field - Nanyou Kougyou (Yamaguchi)

Nanyou Kougyou's resume at first looks pretty bad. In the prefecturals they struggled in 3 straight matchups against no-name teams, going to the last inning (twice to enchousen) to pull off the victory. Then they scrambled for 3rd place after losing to Ube Shougyou in the semifinals.

Despite all that, they apparently embraced their cardiac kid status, using it to defeat Tottori Jyouhoku (just), Hayatomo and Jyosuikan. It could not save them against Soushi Gakuen though as they were blown out 12-1.

The team generally uses a tandem of pitchers each game. They are Shigetomi Masaki (重冨 将希), and Fujimoto Daisuke (藤本 大輔). But being in the Chuugoku region, there is little information on these pitchers. The only reports I can find are that they can hit the low 140s, but nothing in terms on types of pitches. And being second hand reports from unestablished places, I probably put their velocity in the high 130s at best. Also, their strikeout rates as a team are below-average, so that would lead some evidence to the supposition.

The one oddity is that like Kwansei Gakuin and their catcher/pitcher Yamazaki, Fujimoto is also their catcher turn pitcher. It's rare because usually a case where you start both pitchers the other is in the outfield or at 1B, but rarely ever catcher. So it'll be interesting to see another case where the battery are the team's primary pitchers.

Occasionally there is a pitcher that fills in between the two, and information is so scarce I only have his last name Houki or Takaragi (宝木). That's it. Given that he gave up 2 runs in 0.1 innings of work, I doubt he'll be used at all unless it's a blowout.

But once again, offensively we have a state wherein the ace pitcher is their best hitter. And when your relief pitcher is your second best, well... you might have a problem. These two generally bat in the heart of the order, along with 3B Yamaguchi Yuuta (山口 勇太). There can be something said for a team that can battle in the close games, but in general it can only get you so far. And in a weak super-region, it's not a plus at all.

While I would like to see how another P/C duo works, I highly doubt their chances of making a good run.